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The ‘Olympico’, a term some love and some hate, but regardless of your thoughts about its title there’s no doubt that the competition around this game over the past few seasons has become more and more intense. With both teams pushing towards the top of Ligue 1 more recently, regardless of the ‘history’ of the game, there’s no doubt that it means a great deal to the fans and the players. With the return of Valbuena to the Velodrome this season, there’s perhaps even more at stake.

OM approach the game after back to back wins for the first time under Michel, having seen off Bastia at home 4-1 last week, OM achieved their first away win of the campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Dutch opponents Groningen in the Europa League. The win was achieved with an unexpected starting 11 that contained 6 changes to the side that turned over Bastia. In Europe, OM unusually played as more of a counter-attacking side, having less possession than their opponents for the first time since Bielsa took charge. This worked well though for OM as they created a number of chances from these breaks, and against sides like Lyon and psg this could be a successful way forward.

Michel has Diarra fit for the match, but Dja Djedje. Ocampos and Rolando are all rested. The squad could well be looking for the experience and cool headedness from Diarra that they have often lacked in the ‘big’ games of the past few seasons. Diaby is still yet to feature again as he continues his progress towards match fitness. It would be no surprise to see Michel start with the same side that beat Bastia last Sunday.

Lyon come into the game on the back of 2 draws, 0-0 at home against Lille and 1-1 away in Gent (UCL). Prior to this Hubert Fournier’s side have also struggled to get going this season picking up a point Lorient, 3 away at Guingamp and Caen, whilst suffering a defeat at the hands of Rennes. Lyon will be without Fofana and Fekir, while Kone and Rafael are both doubts. Former OM hero, Valbuena, returns as the pantomime villain having returned to France after a season with Dynamo Moscow. OM had initially retired his number 28 shirt when he left, however none expected him to return to France, especially not with one of OM’s major rivals. Another former OM ‘hero’, Morel, also returns to the Velodrome although it would be fair to say his reception could be far more lenient than that of Valbuena who is views as more of a ‘traitor’ (Valbuenain). Morel was a love-hate figure at OM who grew to be liked more towards the end of his tenure at the club through his effort and endevours, though he was always susceptible to the odd howler. Valbuena and Beavue are likely to be the dangermen, but the OM defensive line can’t forget about Lacazette who will be desperate to rekindle his form from last season and get back on the good side of the OL fans.

The view of @OLnews_eng:

Saying that OL is preparing this first huge league matchup of the season with limited confidence is an understatement. Coming off a very, very disappointing result in Champions League, OL has only showed glimpses of the free-flowing possession football that made them a title contender last season. If the defence is relatively satisfying (4 clean sheets in 5 league games), new signings Rafael and Yanga Mbiwa have been mostly average in the back. They’ll both miss out the Olympico, pushing Fournier towards a tried-and-tested backline with Bedimo, Bisevac, Umtiti and Jallet. OL’s main weakness has been its midfield. Gonalons’ still far from his best level, while Tolisso and especially Ferri have struggled early after enjoying breakout seasons last year. Valbuena’s been one of the most consistent performers, but can’t do it all in midfield. OL’s costliest signing of the summer, Spanish mid Sergi Darder, could make his debut but probably isn’t ready to go a full 90 minutes. He could help a team that has struggled when facing a high pressure, like against Rennes or Gent. Up top, Lacazette’s goal drought continues and his partnership with Beauvue still doesn’t seem very natural. The former Guingamp man has shown glimpses of brilliance, with a wonderful goal against Caen and a late game-winner in Guingamp. But he has tended to disappear from games a bit too much, and it’s obvious his partners still need to understand better how he likes to receive the ball and how he times his runs.

Likely starting 11:

Lopes

Jallet, Yanga-Mbiwa, Umtit, Morel

Ferri, Gonalons, Tolisso

Valbuena

Lacazette, Beavue

At the Velodrome OM certainly have history on their side having won 20 games to Lyon’s 10, with another 15 games ending in draws. 3 of the last five games have been draws including last years 0-0 which came after emphatic wins for both Olympion’s before hand, 4-2 to OM in 2013/14 after a 4-1 reverse in 2012/13. There is a great deal riding on the outcome for both teams to give a statement of intent which could see them get their season on track.

With only 2 players starting from the previous friendly line-ups, Bielsa opted for an inexperienced Marseille line-up against the Italian Livorno side. The defense in particular looking extremely inexperienced, however, it is some valuable game time for these players ahead of a season where they will undoubtedly be called upon at some point with a heavy fixture schedule with the additional pressures of Europa League football.

The first goal came once Livorno had broken down the right. The cross from the by-line was nodded to the far post by Fedato, and Pele could only watch helplessly as the ball bounced in off the post.

With the usual raft of substitutions at half time, OM brought on some more experience with Dja Djedje and Boutobba alongside Aloe and Abergel adding to their pre-season time (the latter just before making a move to AC Ajaccio).

After a clumsy pull in the box, Sarr stepped up to take the resulting OM penalty and coolly netted the equaliser.

Unfortunately less than 10 minutes later, Livorno had again taken the lead. Maicon with an excellent run from deep, playing a 1-2 before netting around Pele. It did seem as though he was given too much space through the centre as he ran, and you would expect Romao to be protecting the centre of defence in a more disciplined manner, however this was a friendly with a vastly changed squad.

It will be interesting to see how OM line up and perform against last seasons Champions League finalists, Juventus, at the Velodrome at the weekend.

Marseille’s Marcelo Bielsa era begins on Saturday evening against Corsican side SC Bastia. The clash will pit 2 new managers in Ligue 1 against each other as OM’s new head coach faces up against Claude Makelele, in his first managerial position.

OM come into the game full of confidence after a pre-season that contained an unbeaten record of 4 wins and 1 draw against some quality European competition.

Having invested well and spent hours drilling his new squad, Bielsa will also be relatively happy that he has managed to keep ahold of some of the more experienced OM players such as Mandanda and Nkoulou, despite recently losing Valbuena. The same cannot necessarily be said of Makelele, whose inexperience along management will be tested greatly without the experienced Laundreau and Khazri, despite some good investment with brining in Areola and Ayite as replacements.

Bielsa will be likely to start with a 3-3-1-3 formation used a great deal in friendlies, though the absence of Romao may keen some reshuffling of the defensive 3, with either Mendes or youngster Sparagna deputising. The flexibility of this formation has helped ensure the opposition are offered very little time on the ball in both midfield and in their attack. Most goals against in pre-season have came from a loose ball and snap-shot by the opponents attackers from around the edge of the 18 yard box. This will be something that Bielsa and the OM defence will be keen to prevent Mandanda from having to face, given that old boys Cisse and Brandao would be more than happy to cause an upset on the opening day of the season.

This formation and Bielsa’s attacking and winning mentality has also allowed OM to accrue 15 goals for in only 5 pre-season games. The refreshing approach of changing players and formations even saw OM with 6 attackers on the pitch at the end of the AS Bari game as OM searched for an equaliser and potential winner. Despite looking like he may be on his way out of the club, Payet has possibly impressed the most, looking skilful, fast and sharp with great vision, providing a number of key passes an assists along with Thauvin. Both of these players were just off their peak last season, so seeing them playing as they can is hugely encouraging. The same could be said of new signing, Batshuayi. Arriving from Belgium with a mixed reputation, 4 goals in 5 games has certainly helped to quash the criticisers.

OM likely lineup and formation:

Mandanda

Sparagna Nkoulou Morel

Dja Djedje Imbula Mendy

Payet

Thauvin Gignac Ayew

This should prove to be an exciting opener to the new season for both teams and could set out the rest of the season for both managers too. If Makalele suffers a defeat, it could be a long hard season for the Corsicans, equally, if Bielsa suffers a defeat then he will need a quick turnaround in fortunes in order to keep everyone happy, after such high hopes.

Having seen off notable opposition in previous friendlies in the form of Bayer Leverkusen and Benfica, OM had faced what should be an easier opposition in the form of Dutch side Willem II. Despite spending last season in the Dutch 2nd division, they earned promotion back to the Eredivisie at the first time of asking, having finished 1st last season.

Playing a more traditional 4-3-3 formation, Marcelo Bielsa welcomed Mandanda, Nkoulou and Andre Ayew back to the match day squad, although none were deemed fit enough to start from the beginning. They all played their part in an emphatic win though as OM hit 5 past their Dutch opposition, with Thauvin scoring and assisting and new signing Batshuayi netting his 2nd and 3rd goals in 3 OM games.

The game started evenly with both Samba and Ondaan being called into action early on. As the first half progressed though OM began to take control. After giving away a free-kick just outside their penalty area, Thauvin made Willem II pay, as he curled the free-kick into the near post leaving Ondaan clutching fresh air.

Taking over Payet’s recent role as master-creator, Thauvin then set up Marseille’s 2nd goal 4 minutes later. His run down the right and hold up before crossing allowed OM players to swarm the box, Thauvin’s accurate cross found Imbula who chested down before shooting past 3 Willem II players.

OM could have made it 3 before half-time with Imbula and Alessandrini both going close, before some excellent play between Mendy, Gignac and Alessandrini saw OM go agonisingly close again.

Half-time brought about the usual raft of changes with Batshuayi replacing Gignac, 2 of Marseille’s World Cup representatives, Nkoulou and Andre Ayew replacing Thauvin and Romao, and perhaps most significantly Steve Mandanda, returning from his neck injury in the final game of the season, replacing Brice Samba, who has performed tremendously well during the pre-season.

Unfortunately, as soon as the 2nd half kicked off, Willem II looked as though they were going to spoil the welcome back party! They improved their passing, movement and were getting into dangerous positions, putting in some shots that almost troubled Mandanda. Although this was worrying to watch for a little while, Willem II, didn’t really get any shots on target, but it may give Bielsa and his team some food for thought in preventing the opposition from creating chances.

After 10 minutes of domination, Willem II let the game slip beyond their grasp. As Payet picked up the ball he played in Batshuayi. Although it initially looked to be going out of play, the Belgian managed to beat the ‘keeper to the ball, take it round a defender the the keeper and shoot into the far post. This showed determination, skill and composure from the Belgian, who has looked an exciting prospect.

The game stagnated somewhat over the next 20 minutes with both teams seemingly accepting an OM win. But in the 80th minute Cheyrou added a 4th to the score-sheet. Andre Ayew picked up the ball on the OM left and whipped in a deep cross. Cheyrou volleyed into the ground and into the far post, back across goal for his first OM goal of the pre-season.

As OM suddenly picked up and looked for a 5th in the final 10 minutes Amalfitano broke into the box only to be felled and win OM a penalty. After some discussion between Ayew and Batshuayi it was the Belgian who stepped up to take the spot kick, convincingly sending the Willem II ‘keeper the wrong way to pick up his 3rd goal in 3 games (it seems as though his goal against Bayer Leverkusen was given as an own-goal).

Another convincing OM win, giving the Bielsa era a record of 3 wins from 3, 11 goals scored and 2 goals conceded. All players have managed to play the Bielsa systems, tactics and formations well, with substitutions slotting in seamlessly. It has also been excellent to see some of the youngsters getting pitch time and also playing well. In previous seasons, OM have had a strong starting 11, but looked weak beyond this. Bielsa has varied between a back 3 with only 1 recognised defender, to a back 5 with 4 recognised defenders, with neither of these systems demonstrating any major weaknesses. The beauty of Bielsa’s Marseille so far has been the work ethic and team spirit, but it’s excellent to see that the manager is already looking for potential ‘plan c’ and ‘plan d’ for games, which immediately puts him above his predecessors Baup and Anigo who rarely seemed to have any resemblance of a ‘plan b’.

Having beaten the Bundesliga’s 4th placed team on Saturday, it was clear that Wednesday’s game against Jorge Jesus’, 2014 league and cup double winning Benfica, would provide a much sterner test. Jesus has managed to get the Eagles working as a cooperative and cohesive unit, impressing many on their European travels over the past few seasons.

Wed 23rd July – 20:00

Marseille 2-1 Benfica (Gignac, Batshuayi; Gaitan)

Stade Gabriel-Montpied, Clermont

Samba

Romao Lemina Mendes

Imbula

Thauvin Payet Alessandrini

Gignac

Subs: Sparagna, Morel, Cheyrou, Amalfitano, Porsan-Clement, Batshuayi

Playing in Clermont there was a full house in attendance for the second OM friendly of the summer. Starting with a similar formation that comprehensively beat Bayer04 days earlier, Bielsa’s OM started well. Thauvin had the pick of the chances during the opening exchanges before Benfica opened the scoring.

The first goal came through a defensive error between Romao and Mendes, with Gaitan punishing OM as he beat Samba from the edge of the area.

Marseille stayed focussed though, keeping their position and discipline that had served them so well in the previous game. Once again it was Payet who was the instigator, perhaps benefiting from the extra attention that Thauvin and, ex-Clermont man, Alessandrini were being given. Payet added to his assist tally through a superb corner in the 20th minute which Gignac expertly dispatched.

The game was a good physical encounter with Dja Djedje and Thauvin for OM, Gaitan and Talisca for Benfica picking up bookings in the opening half. Although Bielsa may be a little annoyed with some slips in self-discipline for these bookings and set-pieces that were given away, it does demonstrate just how competitive a game this was throughout.

Bielsa made 2 changes at half time bringing on Sparagna, for his first team debut, replacing Lemina and Batshuayi replacing Gignac. After almost finding the net on his debut. Batshuayi only had to wait 10 minutes to get his first OM goal. Another beautifully weighted through-ball from Payet saw the Belgian take the ball round Moraes before slipping it into an empty net.

As the game continued to be played in a robust and competitive manner, one or two players over stepped the mark, namely Teixeira who was red-carded for Benfica after a poor lunge at Payet. Although Payet was stretchered off, and looked to be in some discomfort, he re-joined play shortly after.

As expected Benfica searched for an equaliser late on, but never managed to trouble Samba too much. Bielsa managed to make a few more changes including the introduction of Cheyrou and Amalfitano for Imbula and Thauvin, before giving Porsan-Clemente his first team debut. What a few months it has been for the youngster, having recently signing pro for OM after an impressive season with the U17’s last year.

A second successive win for OM under Bielsa. More impressively this came against much tougher opposition, and they came back from a goal down.

After much confusion over arranged friendlies, cancelled friendlies and newly arranged friendlies, along with doubt over the venue of OMs home games this season, Marseille eventually played their first game under the stewardship of Marcelo Bielsa on the 19th July in Austria against Bayer Leverkusen.

2 games later and Bielsa’s Marseille have a 100% record, showing some excellent discipline, attacking intent, structure and tactics that have been missing during the Baup/Anigo eras.

One of the many questions fans were excitedly asking ahead of Bielsa’s first game in charge of OM was ‘what crazy formation will El Loco’ start with?’ Knowing that Bielsa is something of a taskmaster, with huge expectations of his players, many have doubted how OM’s players would adapt to this level of discipline, having shown very little of it under previous managers.

Bielsa set out with an unusual line-up which varied between a defensive 5-1-3-1 and attacking 3-3-3-1. In the defensive 3, only Mendes was a recognised defender as Lemina and Romao joined him. Mendy and Dja Djedje supported as wing-backs, with Imbula sitting just in front of the defence. The attacking 4 of Alessandrini, Payet, Thauvin and Gignac was probably the most expected aspect of the squad.

The game started evenly with both teams creating chances, but failing to really test the opposition keeper. That all changed after 30 minutes when Payet played an excellent through-ball for Thauvin, beating the high Leverkusen defensive line, Thauvin composed himself and beat Leno when one-on-one. Leverkusen looked the most likely to score during the rest of the first half, but only tested Samba once.

During the interval Bielsa made 3 changes, bringing on Morel, Cheyrou and Batshuayi in pace Mendy, Alessandrini and Gignac. The changes worked well with all 3 players fitting into the system seamlessly. Just before the hour mark, OM doubled their lead. New boy, Batshuayu broke down the left and attempted to cross, only for Bayer defender Reinartz to deflect the ball into his own goal.

Amalfitano looked to have put the game beyond the Germans with an audacious lob on 78 minutes, only for Yurchenko to leave Samba with no chance with a good strike. Amalfitano continued to look impressive though and he added to his performance with an assist for Payet’s goal only a minute later.

The slightly more physical side to the game looked as though it may take over in the dying minutes, but thankfully most remembered that this was a pre-season friendly.

The win was an emphatic way for Marcelo Bielsa to begin his tenure at OM, with a number of Marseille players impressing with excellent performances, for both themselves and the team as a whole. Particular standouts were Imbula, Amalfitano, Payet and Thauvin.

Marseille begin their Ligue 1 campaign away at newly promoted Guingamp on Sunday evening. After a summer of some shrewd investment in the shadows behind psg and Monaco’s monetary prowess it’s time to prove that Ligue 1 is not going to be a two horse race and les phocéens have a big point to prove. After little investment last summer, along with losing the manager and some big name players (Azpilicueta, Mbia, Remy, Lucho and Diarra) OM still pushed psg further than most expected through disciplined and mature performances, the likes of which had rarely been witnessed under Deschamps guidance. Elie Baup will hope that the squad can keep this new found discipline, whilst improve on their poor entertainment value that saw the club criticised last year. The excellent start to the season that saw OM top the table with 6 wins from 6 certainly helped build confidence in a much changed club, and although OM haven’t underwent the same volume of changes this summer, a solid start to the season would help give credence to their title aspirations, to those ignorant to football outside of money.

Marseille

Elie Baup will be without the services of new signing Saber Khlifa who is not registered in time to feature, and Jeremy Morel who is suspended. Fellow new signings; Giannelli Imbula, Dimitri Payet and Benjamin Mendy are all expected to feature having trained and played in recent friendlies.
What will be interesting though is which formation Elie Baup decides to play. Having been successful with 4-2-3-1 throughout last season, the coach has experimented with 4-3-3 and even 4-4-2 during some of the friendlies. Through the results, it would be easy to suggest that those experiments didn’t work, however it does offer flexibility in varying attacks and supporting defence.
Through the suspension of Morel it is expected that Mendy will start at left back. Having impressed pre-season Imbula may start in defensive midfield along with Romao, and Payet will be likely to start on the right.
Imbula will start in defensive midfield facing up against his former club, alongside Romao.
Full squad: Mandanda, Samba – Abdallah, Diawara, Fanni, Mendes, Mendy, Nkoulou – Amalfitano, Cheyrou, Imbula, Kadir, Romao, Valbuena – J. Ayew, A. Ayew, Gignac, Payet. Likely lineup and formation.

Guingamp

Having finished 2nd in Ligue 2, Jocelyn Gourvennec’s side had the best home record in the ligue, 4th best defensive record and kept 15 clean sheets, so given that they are at home they will certainly be no pushovers as they look to pick up early points to avoid a relegation that most believe is expected. The team will have the backing of an expected sold out crowd and have a full strength squad available. After losing Imbula to us, Planté to Red Star Paris, Camara to CA Bastia, Bellugou to Nancy and Rouger to Rennes, Guingamp have strengthened their squad through Ligue 2 purchases. Sorbon from Caen, Langil from Auxerre, Beauvue from Chateauraux, Sankharé from Dijon and Assembe from Nancy are all expected starters from Guingamp.
The danger man for EAG is undoubtedly red-hot striker Mustapha Yatabaré. The 6 foot forward netted 23 times for Guingamp last season. His pace is certainly a strength although both Nkoulou and Mendes are not the slowest defenders he will come across, his quick thinking finishes inside the box may be his best chance of beating the defence and Mandanda.
Guingamp squad: Samassa, Assembe – Pereira, Sankoh, Sorbon, Leveque, Lemaitre – Kerbrat, Mathis, Diallo, Sankhare, Giresse, Atik – Beauvue, Langil, Yatabare, Douniama, Alioui.

Summary
As always, it’s very difficult to predict results early on in the season particularly against newly promoted opposition, however, if both teams play to their strengths then Marseille should win this one.

Stats
Out of 6 meetings between EAG/OM in Brittany, Guingamp have won 3, OM 1 and 2 draws.
Marseille won last ligue game in Guingamp 1-0, 10 years ago with Bakayoko netting in the final minutes.
Last meeting between EAG/OM was Coupe de France match last season, OM won 2-1 (after extra time) with Gignac scoring both goals.